Dolly and box for use with the dolly

ABSTRACT

A box and dolly system for moving, storing or retrieving goods wherein the box comprises a plurality of substantially upright walls with at least one of the walls having at least two surfaces disposed in an offsetting relationship for forming an overhang and wherein the dolly comprises a plurality of upright walls and a housing adjacent the intersection of each pair of upright walls and with the housing extending from the walls of the dolly such that the dolly may be stacked directly upon another dolly of identical construction with both dollies aligned in the same orientation.

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates to a box for use with a dolly and to a box anddolly system for moving, storing and retrieving file folders and variousitems and materials.

BACKGROUND—DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART

Historically, corrugated cardboard boxes have been used by businesses tohold file folders and other contents when relocating. During the past 5to 10 years boxes made of plastic have been introduced as an alternativeto using cardboard boxes in office moving. To date, boxes used in officemoving, whether cardboard or plastic, have been commonly transportedaboard dollies.

A dolly is typically comprised of a platform resting atop a set ofwheels. The utility of this construction is broad. It not only lendsitself to moving boxes that vary greatly in shape and size, but totransporting a large variety of other objects. In one respect, thisbroadness of utility creates a disadvantage, as it makes the dolly anattractive target of theft.

The box and dolly of the present invention were specifically designed tomate with each other and only each other. The dolly of the presentinvention does not have a platform and will not hold any object otherthan the box of the present invention. Accordingly, the dolly of thepresent invention is limited in its utility and is much less attractiveas a target of theft than the typical platform dolly.

As such, the dolly of the present invention can be used in certainsituations where the typical platform dolly would be subject to highlevels of theft. One example of this occurs in office moving, where itwould be desirable to have dollies on hand during the process of packingboxes. As that situation often necessitates leaving dollies unattendedfor long periods of time, the typical platform dolly is not a practicalvehicle as it would likely be stolen in large quantities. The dolly ofthe present invention offers a better alternative as it is less likelyto be stolen.

Since, as a practical matter, the dolly of the present invention can beon hand during packing, empty boxes can be placed aboard it and thenpacked. This allows the step in which boxes would otherwise have to beloaded onto dollies after they have been packed to be eliminated fromthe moving process, thereby saving time and money. The savings derivesfrom the relatively low theft appeal of the dolly of the presentinvention, which is based upon its design as an item of limited utility.

When typical platform dollies are delivered to a location for use inmoving they are usually cross-stacked (illustrated in FIG. 7C), meaningthat any two adjacent dollies in a stack are in different orientationsfrom each other. Such stacks are difficult to maneuver, lack stabilityand present a sloppy appearance.

The dolly of the present invention is designed to be parallel stacked(illustrated in FIGS. 7A and 7B), so that all dollies in a stack are inthe same orientation. Such stacks are relatively easy to maneuver,stable and neat.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other advantages of the present invention will become apparent from thefollowing detailed description of the invention when read in conjunctionwith the following drawings of which:

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the box ofthe present invention (lids closed), the composition of which includesside walls having an edge or overhang which is nonparallel to the bottomof the box and which function to support the box on (the preferredembodiment of) the dolly of the present invention;

FIG. 1B is a cross sectional view taken along the lines 1B—1B of FIG.1A;

FIG. 1C is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the box of thepresent invention (lids closed), the composition of which includes sidewalls having an edge or overhang which is parallel to the bottom of thebox and which functions to support the box on (a second embodiment of)the dolly of the present invention.

FIG. 1D is a cross sectional view taken along the lines 1D—1D of FIG.1C;

FIG. 2A is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the dollyof the present invention with side walls that support the box of FIG. 1Ain accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2B is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the dolly of thepresent invention with side walls that support the box of FIG. 1C inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3A is a view similar to FIG. 1A, but with a ledge (rather than anedge) forming the overhang that spans the wall shown.

FIG. 3B shows a cross sectional view taken along the lines 3B—3B of FIG.3A;

FIG. 4A is identical to FIG. 1A but oriented to show both the long andshort side walls of the box and with the lids of the box shown open;

FIG. 5 is yet another variation of the box shown in FIG. 1A;

FIG. 6A shows in combination, the dolly of FIG. 2A and the box of FIG.1A with the box descending into the dolly,

FIG. 6B shows the dolly of the present invention having 1 box stacked onit

FIG. 6C is a cross sectional view taken along the lines 6C—6C of FIG.6B;

FIG. 7A shows a parallel stack of two dollies in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIG. 7B is identical to FIG. 7A with a different orientation; and

FIG. 7C shows a prior art cross stack of two conventional platformdollies.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE BOX

FIG. 1A shows the preferred embodiment of the box of the presentinvention in perspective (top/front view). The box is substantially ofrectangular geometry having four walls extending upright from a commonfloor or bottom wall. Side wall 1 a is comprised of a vertical planarsurface 2 and a vertical planar surface 3. The vertical surfaces 2 and 3are offset from one another such that vertical surface 2 lies above andextends from vertical surface 3. The lower edge 4 a of vertical planarsurface 2 forms an overhang relative to vertical planar surface 3 whichoverhang is comprised of edge segments 4 b and 4 c, intersecting at apex4 d. The overhang formed by the edge 4 a has a width (the dimension ofwhich is shown in the cross sectional view of edge 4 a illustrated inFIG. 1B) which is sufficient for the box to be supported by acomplimentary edge 47 a of a corresponding dolly wall as is illustratedin FIG. 2A. Preferably, at least two of the opposing four walls of thebox have an overhanging edge each of which is supported by acorresponding complimentary edge of a dolly wall.

The segment 4 b of edge 4 a (FIG. 1A) begins at the left side of sidewall 1 a and rises at a gradual incline half way across the wall untilit is joined at its right endpoint by edge segment 4 c, which falls at agradual decline until it reaches the right side of the wall. Segments 4b and 4 c meet on the vertical axis of wall 1 a at apex 4 d. Side wall 1a and the wall opposite it, side wall 1 b (not shown), comprise the twolong walls of the box. The structure and dimensions of side wall 1 b areidentical to those of wall 1 a.

FIG. 4A shows side wall 70 of the box, which lies adjacent andorthogonal to side wall 1 a. Like side wall 1 a, side wall 70 iscomprised of two vertical planar surfaces, i.e., planar surface 71 andplanar surface 72. The planar surfaces 71 and 72 are offset from oneanother with surface 71 lying above and extending from surface 72. Edge73 a is the bottom end of planar surfaces 71 and is comprised of edgesegments 73 b and 73 c. Edge segments 73 b and 73 c meet on the verticalaxis of side wall 70 at apex 73 d. The shape of edge 73 a is identicalto the shape of edge 4 a of FIG. 1A, but the dimensions are different.Edge segments 4 b and 4 c of FIG. 1A are longer than edge segments 73 band 73 c of FIG. 4A. Apex 4 d of FIG. 1A is higher than apex 73 d ofFIG. 4A. The interior surface of side wall 74 lies opposite wall 70. Thestructure and dimensions of side wall 74 are identical to those of sidewall 70. Side walls 70 and 74 comprise the two short walls of the box.The bottom or floor 12 of the box is shown in FIG. 4A. The edge segments4 b and 4 c of FIG. 1A and the edge segments 73 b and 73 c of FIG. 4Aare nonparallel to the floor 12 of the box.

Description of a Second Embodiment of the Box

A second embodiment of the box of the present invention is shown in FIG.1C, which is of similar construction to the box of FIG. 1A except thatthe overhanging edge which spans the side wall has a configuration whichis substantially different in geometry from that of edge 4 a of FIG. 1A.Edge 20 begins at the left side of side wall 21 and extends horizontallyin a straight line until it reaches the right side of the wall. Edge 20is parallel to the floor 12 of the box. The side walls (not shown)extending transverse and adjacent to side wall 21 conform to the sameconcepts as those discussed above for side walls. FIG. 1D shows a crosssection of the box taken along the lines 1D—1D of FIG. 1C. The crosssectional view shows the depth of the overhang formed by edge 20.

Preferred Embodiment of the Dolly

A preferred embodiment of the dolly of the present invention isillustrated in perspective in FIG. 2A (top/front view). The dolly issubstantially rectangular in configuration and has four upstanding wallswhich are molded or joined together at their intersecting ends to form asingle integral unit without any bottom support. Stated otherwise, thedolly of the present invention does not have a conventional horizontalplatform. Side wall 46 is a vertical planar surface. Edge 47 arepresents the top of side wall 46 and is comprised of two edgesegments, 47 b and 47 c. Edge segments 47 b and 47 c meet on thevertical axis of side wall 46 at apex 47 d. Edge 47 a, which is of thesame shape and dimension as edge 4 a of FIG. 1A, compatibly supportsedge 4 a. FIG. 2A also shows the interior surface of side wall 48, whichis opposite side wall 46. The structure and dimensions of side wall 48are identical to those of side wall 46. Side walls 48 and 46 comprisethe two long walls of the dolly. The interior surface of side wall 50 ofthe dolly is a vertical planar surface disposed adjacent to side wall46. Edge 51 a is at the top of side wall 50 and is comprised of edgesegments 51 b and 51 c. Edge segments 51 b and 51 c meet on the verticalaxis of side wall 50 at apex 51 d. Edge 51 a, which is of the same shapeand dimension as edge 73 a of FIG. 4A, compatibly supports edge 73 a.

Side wall 52 is shown in FIG. 2A opposite side wall 50. The structureand dimensions of side wall 52 are identical to those of side wall 50.Side walls 52 and 50 comprise the two short walls of the dolly. Apexes47 d and 49 d (which are of equal height) are higher than apexes 51 dand 53 d (which are of equal height).

Description of a Second Embodiment of the Dolly

A second embodiment of the dolly is illustrated in perspective in FIG.2B (top/front view). In this embodiment the dolly is also rectangular inconfiguration with four upstanding walls without a floor or bottomsupport. Side wall 62 is a vertical planar surface. Edge 63 of side wall62 has substantially the same shape as edge 20 of FIGS. 1C and 1D so asto support the box when mounted thereon. Side wall 64 lies opposite sidewall 62. The structure and dimensions of side wall 64 are identical tothose of side wall 62. Edge 65 of side wall 64 supports the overhangingedge (not shown) of the wall of the box opposite wall 21 of FIG. 1C.Side walls 64 and 62 comprise the two long walls of the dolly. Side wall66 of the dolly lies adjacent to side wall 62 and is a vertical planarsurface. The structure of side wall 66 is identical to that of side wall62, but of shorter length. Edge 67 supports the overhanging edge (notshown) on the side wall of the box adjacent to side wall 21 of FIG. 1C.Side wall 68 of the dolly lies opposite side wall 66. The structure anddimensions of side wall 68 are identical to those of side wall 66. Sidewalls 68 and 66 comprise the two short walls of the dolly.

Dolly Stacking

FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate how two dollies of the present invention areparallel stacked atop each other as compared to the cross stacking oftwo conventional dollies illustrated in FIG. 7C. Wheel rest platform 30housing that is exterior to side walls 46 and 50. Surface 31 a comprisesthe outer side of the wheel rest platform and surface 31 b comprises thefront side. The wheel rest platform is open in its center and at itstop, and closed at its bottom. Floor 37 (numbered on both the upper andlower dollies for purposes of clarity) is the upper side of the surfacethat forms the bottom of the wheel rest platform. Wheel 34 (numbered onboth the upper and lower dollies for purposes of clarity) is attached tothe lower side of such surface. The dolly contains three other housings,all of which are identical to wheel rest platform 30.

Projection 33 is a wheel retainer comprised of elements 33 a and 33 b.Element 33 a projects from vertical wall 50 of the dolly and isperpendicular or nearly perpendicular to it. Element 33 b is attached atits end to the end of element 33 a and is perpendicular or nearlyperpendicular to it. The dolly contains three other wheel retainers, allof which are identical to projection 33.

As further illustrated in FIG. 7A, wheel 34 of the upper dolly sitsinside wheel rest platform 30 of the lower dolly. Wheel 34 is orientedso that its broad side is more or less parallel to wall 50 of the lowerdolly. The bottom of wheel 34 rests on floor 37 of wheel rest platform30, i.e., floor 37 supports wheels 34. The interior side of surface 31 ais an abutment that prevents wheel 34 from turning and the interior sideof surface 31 b is an abutment that prevents it from swiveling. Furthersecurity against turning is provided by wheel retainer element 33 a andfurther security against swiveling is provided by wheel retainer element33 b. The interior sides of both of such elements act as abutments. Thewheel rest platforms (e.g., wheel rest platform 30) and wheel retainers(e.g., wheel retainer 33) of the lower dolly, support and secure thewheels of the upper dolly, so that both dollies are positioned in thesame orientation.

Operation

An illustration of the manner of using the present invention for movinggoods from one location to another begins with FIG. 6A, which shows thebox and dolly in their preferred embodiments. The box is lowered intothe dolly until edge 47 a of the dolly meets edge 4 a of the box andedge 51 a of the dolly meets edge 73 a (illustrated in FIG. 4A.) of thebox. At this point, the edges on the other two side walls of the dollywill meet their compatible edges on the other two side walls of the box.As shown in FIGS. 6B and 6C, the edges of the dolly compatibly supportthe corresponding edges of the box. The edges of the box form anoverhang, which is of sufficient depth for the box to rest firmly atopthe dolly without falling through it. The cross sectional view in FIG.6C shows the depth of the overhang formed by the edge 4 a of the box asit rests on the corresponding edge 47 a of the dolly.

As further shown in FIG. 6B, the interior side of side wall 46 of thedolly is flush against planar surface 3 (see FIG. 1A) of the box. Asillustrated in FIGS. 6B and 6C, the weight of the box rests upon thedolly where edge 4 a of the box meets edge 47 a of the dolly. The dollysupports the box along the edges of its side walls. The side walls, andonly the side walls, of the dolly support the box. Unique to the dollyof the present invention is that it does not have any horizontalplatform upon which the bottom of the box can rest. Heretofore, dollydesigns have relied upon horizontal platforms as the means of supportingthe objects which rest upon them. The dolly of the present invention is,in effect, a bottomless dolly.

Lacking a bottom, the dolly of the present invention will not supportany object other than one which is compatibly designed to fit the edgesof its side walls, such as the box of the present invention. Sincevirtually all other boxes and objects are not compatibly designed, theywould not be supported by the dolly. Instead, they would fall off of it.This greatly limits the dolly's utility rendering it unattractive as atarget of theft. This enables the dolly of the present invention to beutilized in those aspects of moving where conventional dollies withhorizontal platforms would likely be stolen in significant quantities.

If a board or other flat surface were laid across the tops of the wallsof the dolly of the second embodiment (shown in FIG. 2B), the dollycould be adapted to move objects other than the box of the presentinvention, thereby increasing the broadness of utility of the dolly andits appeal as a target of theft. The dolly of the preferred embodiment(shown in FIG. 2A) is significantly more resistant to theft and/oradaptation than the dolly of the second embodiment (shown in FIG. 2B).Apexes 47 d and 49 d are higher than apexes 51 d and 53 d. A board orother flat surface which spanned the length and width of the dolly wouldcome to rest upon apexes 47 d and 49 d, but not upon apexes 51 d and 53d. For an object to be even minimally balanced, it must be supported byall four apexes. Since the spanning object would be supported by onlytwo apexes, it would tilt and would likely fall off the dolly or, if itdid not fall, would rest in a most awkward position. For this reason,the dolly of the preferred embodiment is less appealing as a target oftheft than the dolly of the second embodiment.

Points “A” and “B” are imposed upon FIG. 1A to illustrate principlesapplied in the claims section of this application. Side wall 1 a iscomprised of surfaces 2 and 3, which are surfaces that “lie in more thanone plane” (such words are used in the claims section). Points “A” and“B” lie on edge segment 4 b, which is the bottom edge of surface 2 andwhich forms an overhang to support the box upon the dolly. Line AB is astraight line that is nonparallel to the bottom of the box. Accordingly,line AB is a straight line which is nonparallel to the bottom of the boxand is defined by points lying on an overhang that supports the box uponthe dolly. Edge segment 4 b defines a locus of points lying on an edgewhich forms an overhanging supporting surface for the dolly to supportthe box.

FIG. 5 illustrates the same concept as FIG. 1A, using an overhang of asawtooth configuration which is of a substantially different geometrythat of FIG. 1A or 1C. In FIG. 5, side wall 24 is comprised of surfaces25 and 26, “which lie in more than one plane.” Points “D” and “E” lie onedge 11, which is the bottom edge of surface 25 and which forms anoverhang to support the box upon the dolly. Straight line DE isnonparallel to the bottom of the box. Accordingly, line DE is a straightline which is nonparallel to the bottom of the box and is defined bypoints lying on an overhang that supports the box upon the dolly. Thebottom edge of surface 25 defines a locus of points lying on an edgewhich forms an overhanging supporting surface for the dolly to supportthe box.

FIG. 3A illustrates the same concept as FIG. 1A, but with a ledge(rather than an edge) forming the overhang which rests upon the dolly.In FIG. 3A, wall 101 is comprised of surface 101 a, which is flat andvertical, and surface 101 b, which is oblong and horizontal. Surface 101b forms a ledge that spans surface 101 a. The two surfaces (101 a and101 b), which are in different planes, meet at juncture 101 c and forman overhang. Accordingly, side wall 101 is “comprised of surfaces thatlie in more than one plane and with at least two of such surfacesdisposed in an offsetting relationship to one another for forming anoverhang to support said box upon said dolly” (such words are used inthe claims section of this application).

In summary, the box and dolly of the present invention relate integrallyas a component system. The precise configuration of the edge or juncturealong which they mate is irrelevant to the concept of the presentinvention. An infinite number of configurations are possible.Accordingly the invention should not be construed as limited to theembodiments shown and described realizing that the embodiments are butexemplifications of the invention with many other variations possible.

We claim:
 1. A box and a wheeled dolly component system comprising: abox having a pair of opposed side walls, a pair of opposed end walls, ahorizontal bottom wall, and a top opening for receiving articles to betransported, at least two of said walls having an upper planar wallportion and a lower planar wall portion, each upper planar wall portionextending outwardly beyond each lower planar wall portion and beinginterconnected to form an edge portion extending substantially along anentire length of each respective wall, each edge portion of at least oneof said pairs of opposed side walls and end walls comprising at leastone downwardly facing planar surface which is parallel to the bottomwall of the box, at least one of said upper planar wall portionscomprising a plurality of recessed portions extending upwardly from saiddownwardly facing planar surface; and a wheeled dolly having supportsurfaces for supporting said box consisting of a pair of opposedvertically oriented side support walls and a pair of opposed verticallyoriented end support walls which form an opening in said wheeled dollyextending through the entire wheeled dolly, said side and end supportwalls having upper edge portions extending substantially along theirentire lengths with the edge portions of at least one pair of such sideand end support walls having at least one complementary upwardly facingplanar surface which mates with the corresponding downwardly facingplanar surface on the wall of the box when the box is being supported bythe dolly, at least one of said edge portions comprising a plurality ofupwardly extending projections, one of said projections having a greatervertical height than the remaining plurality of projections forpreventing a planar member from being supported in a horizontalorientation on the dolly, and wherein said dolly further includes aplurality of wheel housings each of which projects a sufficient distanceoutwardly from each of the opposed walls about the exterior of saiddolly to provide clearance for the insertion of a wheel in eachrespective wheel housing such that said wheel housings permit aplurality of wheeled dollies to be stacked one upon another.
 2. A boxand a wheeled dolly component system as defined in claim 2 wherein eachwheel housing comprises a horizontal platform that forms a bottom forsaid housing and at least one projection that, in conjunction with saidhorizontal platform, forms a pocket having a top opening which providessaid clearance for insertion of a wheel from another dolly and whichfunctions to confine the inserted wheel and limit its movement.
 3. A boxand a wheeled dolly component system as defined in claim 2 furthercomprising wherein said horizontal platform has a downwardly facingbottom side providing a surface for attaching a wheel to said dolly,said bottom side being substantially at the same level as the bottomsurfaces of the vertically oriented side and end support walls of saiddolly.
 4. A box and a wheeled dolly component system as defined in claim2 wherein said plurality of wheeled dollies when stacked one uponanother all have the same orientation.